It is common practice to protect the windows of a building, especially those on the ground floor level, from unauthorized entry by means of window guards. Traditionally, such window guards have consisted of heavy gauge wire mesh screens or metal bars which are permanently attached to the building. A permanently installed window guard has a number of disadvantages, however, the primary disadvantage being that in the event of a fire or other emergency, it is not possible to leave the building through the guarded window. One must therefore find another means of escape, which means may not be available. Additionally, such permanent guards are not suitable for doors and other entryways that must permit access therethrough yet may still require the protection provided by the guards. This disclosure refers to a screen assembly, and is applicable to a screen assembly in a door or window or to any door or window or jambed opening.
Access can be unauthorizedly gained through openings in buildings by applying a prying force at the space defined by the screen assembly for a window or door and the surrounding jamb. An effectively applied prying force is capable of overcoming known security measures such as various locks and the use of high strength materials in manufacturing the screen assembly. It is necessary to develop a screen assembly frame for a window or door which would deny access to a prying force applied between the screen assembly frame and the jamb. It is further necessary to develop a screen assembly frame for a window or door that ensures than any prying force that could be applied at the space between the assembly frame and the jamb would not be effective in prying open the assembly. This invention provides a structure for the screen assembly and jamb that solves these problems.
Of some interest to this disclosure is U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,326 to Dickey. The '326 patent discloses a self-adjusting weather-proof seal for doors, windows and other closures that automatically accommodates warping, settling or other movement of the closure and its frame. A weather stripping flange is mounted on one or more sides of a closure or closure frame, and is adapted to be received in a compatible receptacle on the closure frame or closure, respectively. The weather stripping flange is coupled to an adjustment assembly that permits frictionally restricted movement of the flange. This capability for frictionally restricted movement allows the flange automatically to become inserted into the receptacle as the door or other closure is moved to a closed position, even if the closure and closure frame are significantly out-of-square or warped.
The '326 patent is distinguishable because it discloses a channel secured to an inside surface of the doorjamb. The present invention provides a channel protruding from the screen assembly frame and not from the jamb and overlaying the space defined between the screen assembly frame and the jamb to prevent access to that space. A channel provided on an inside surface of the jamb could never prevent access to the space between the assembly frame and the jamb on the outer side of the assembly. The '326 patent further is distinguishable because it utilizes a flange secured to a door rather than a flange protruding from the outward surface of the door jam. Again, none of the security benefits provided by the present invention are offered by the '326 patent because of the structural differences disclosed in the patent.
The present invention works in concert with known methods of securing windows and doors. Accordingly, inventions such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,475 to Morgan, et al. which relates to the field of metal protection screens and, in particular, to screens designed and manufactured for deterring forced entry and vandalism is wholly incorporated herein. The '475 patent provides a security screen having a mechanism to increase resistance to displacement due to a force applied to the screen cloth. It also provides a security screen of the above character wherein the mechanism to increase resistance to displacement also serves to prevent the screen from being pried open.
What is desired therefore is a security closure assembly for an opening in a building for preventing unauthorized access therethrough when in a secured position and for allowing ingress to and egress from the building when in an open position, which denies access to a prying force at the space defined between the screen assembly frame and the jamb, which ensures that a prying force on the screen assembly will necessarily be at a disadvantageous angle, which provides that a prying instrument inserted at the seam formed between the screen assembly frame and the jamb would have only a shallow lip upon which to leverage a prying force, and which if any leverage against the screen assembly is obtained with a prying force, provides a dynamic that interferes with further movement in response to the prying force.